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20 In those days was Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah) sick unto mot (death). And HaNavi Yeshayah Ben Amotz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Hashem, Set thine bais in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

Then he turned his face to the kir (wall), and davened unto Hashem, saying,

Remember now, Hashem, how I have walked before Thee in emes and with a lev shalem, and have done that which is hatov in Thy sight. And Chikiyahu (Hezekiah) wept with bekhi gadol (great weeping).

And it came to pass, before Yeshayah was gone out from the middle courtyard, that the Devar Hashem came to him, saying,

Shuv (return), and say to Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah) the Nagid Ami, Thus saith Hashem Elohei Dovid Avicha, I have heard thy tefillah, I have seen thy tears; hineni, I will heal thee; on Yom HaShelishi thou shalt go up unto the Beis Hashem.

And I will add unto thy days fifteen shanah; and I will save thee and this city out of the palm of Melech Asshur (Assyria); and I will defend this city for Mine Own sake, and for the sake of Dovid Avdi.

And Yeshayah said, Take a develet te’enim. And they took and laid it on the shechin (boil, inflamed spot) and he recovered [See Isaiah 38:21].

And Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah) said unto Yeshayah, What shall be the Ot (Sign) that Hashem will heal me, and that I shall go up into the Beis Hashem on the Yom HaShelishi?

And Yeshayah said, This Ot (Sign) shalt thou have from Hashem, that Hashem will do the thing that He hath spoken: shall the tzel (shadow) go forward eser ma’alot (ten steps), or go backward eser ma’alot?

10 And Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah) answered, It is a simple matter for the tzel to go forward eser ma’alot; no, but let the tzel return backward eser ma’alot.

11 And Yeshayah HaNavi cried out unto Hashem; and He brought the tzel (shadow) eser ma’alot backward, by which it had gone on the ma’alot Achaz (sundial of Ahaz).

12 At that time Berodach Baladan Ben Baladan Melech Bavel sent sefarim and a minchah unto Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah); for he had heard that Chizkiyahu had been ill.

13 And Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah) paid heed unto them, and showed them kol Bais Nekhotoh (Treasure House), the kesef, and the zahav, and the spices, and the shemen hatov, and all the Bais Keli of his, and all that was found in his otzerot; there was nothing in his Bais (palace), nor in all his memshalet, that Chizkiyahu showed them not.

14 Then came Yeshayah HaNavi unto HaMelech Chizkiyahu, and said unto him, What said these anashim? And from whence came they unto thee? And Chizkiyah said, They are come from an eretz rekhokah (a far country), even from Babylon.

15 And he said, What have they seen in thine Bais (palace)? And Chizkiyahu answered, All the things that are in mine Bais (palace) have they seen; there is nothing among my otzerot (treasures) that I have not showed them.

16 And Yeshayah said unto Chizkiyahu, Hear the Devar Hashem.

17 Hinei, the days come, that all that is in thine Bais, and that which Avotecha have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon; nothing shall be left, saith Hashem.

18 And of thy Banim that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt father, shall they take away; and they shall be sarisim in the Heikhal Melech Bavel.

19 Then said Chizkiyahu unto Yeshayah, Tov is the Devar Hashem which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if shalom and emes be in my days?

20 And the rest of the acts of Chizkiyahu, and all his gevurah, and how he made HaBerekhah (the Pool) and the Te’alah (Tunnel), and brought mayim into the city, are they not written in the Sefer Divrei HaYamim of the Melachim of Yehudah?

21 And Chizkiyahu slept with his avot; and Menasheh bno reigned in his place.

Hezekiah’s Illness(A)

20 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember,(B) Lord, how I have walked(C) before you faithfully(D) and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard(E) your prayer and seen your tears;(F) I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend(G) this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”

Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil,(H) and he recovered.

Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”

Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign(I) to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”

10 “It is a simple(J) matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”

11 Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back(K) the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

Envoys From Babylon(L)(M)

12 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. 13 Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.”

15 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.(N) Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your descendants,(O) your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”(P)

19 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”

20 As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool(Q) and the tunnel(R) by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 21 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.